Tick-tock, tick-tock: the climate clock is making an alarming sound, counting down the amount of time we have left to save the earth. Scorching heat and potentially devastating flooding are both on the rise. Two recent CUHK studies have explored what we can do about that: while one is helping the authorities map floods and take contingency measures, the other predicts an ever hotter future, and suggests ways we can mitigate the heat’s most debilitating effects.

A summer of heatwaves has wreaked havoc on human health, food security and natural ecosystems all over the world this year. With climate change on the march, Hong Kong, as a tiny dot on the map, can’t escape its effects. CUHK experts on climate change, earth and environmental sciences, and architecture discuss what the consequences could be, and what can we do to alleviate them.

The recent IPCC report rang loud and clear. CUHK chimed in with recognition for its work towards sustainable development at the UN International Green Gown Awards. The rural sustainable development assistance programme initiated by the One University One Village team of the School of Architecture won the “Benefitting Society” category, and the SDG Study Scheme launched by the Office of University General Education was selected as a finalist in “2021 Next Generation Learning and Skills”.